


Flags

by Wxlves



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Coming Out, Demisexual Main Character, Demisexual Steve Rogers, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 04:07:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18652579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wxlves/pseuds/Wxlves
Summary: After Tony encourages Steve to see the New York Pride Parade, he learns some things about himself.(Aka Steve is demisexual and in love with Bucky, bc if Marvel won’t give Captain America a boyfriend I’ll do it myself)Idk what the title is, I can’t do titles or tags[NO ENDGAME SPOILERS. ENDGAME IS IRRELEVANT TO THIS STORY]





	Flags

Bucky always had a girl at his side when he went out, and more often than not, Steve too. He always made it a double date but whatever girl he managed to reel in for Steve usually ended up with him by the end of the night, which was fine by both of them.

More than once Bucky had gone back to his place with his girl, sometimes both girls. Steve never minded when this happened. He had no illusions of what a catch he was (not) for the dames and no matter how beautiful they were, or how tolerant of his social awkwardness, he never had an inclination to take them to bed. He supposed this was fine, he never had an inclination to take any men to bed so at least he couldn’t be accused of sodomy or something equally ridiculous. Steve always just figured he was waiting for the right girl. 

And when she did come around, boy was he glad he’d waited. When Steve first met Peggy Carter the only thing he felt in her presence was admiration and maybe a hint of fear (she could throw a mean right hook.)  Eventually his feelings began to lean more towards romantic attraction; what was truly shocking was the fact that she seemed to reciprocate these feelings. It was only after some time that he developed a deeper attraction to her; their one dramatic kiss straight out of a cheesy action movie left him aching for more. 

But then fate cruelly intervened. In a relatively short amount of time Steve lost Bucky and fell into the ice, losing seventy years in the same fall ー when he woke up the world was different, Bucky was still gone, and Peggy was now an old woman who had lived a full life without him. 

When the Winter Soldier melted away and Bucky was back (albeit a little worse for the wear) Steve was relieved to have a piece of the twentieth century with him in this new age, especially his most treasured piece. Bucky had been there with him through thick and thin and now, more than ever, they had each other

•

“So Grandpa, you finally learned to use the Google Machine.”

“Very funny, Tony. I’m looking up recipes because Bucky can’t cook worth a damn and just in case you care, I’ve been awake in this century for a few years. I’m old but I’m not elderly.”

“ _ I’m not elderly  _ says the guy who uses google solely to look up recipes for himself and his equally-as-old roommate. And said roommate’s dog.” 

Steve rolled his eyes. “First of all, Dodger isn’t just Bucky’s he’s also mine, and he’s not owned by anyone he just lives with us. He’s a non-human best friend.” That made Tony smile. “Second, I also use the ‘google machine’ to catch up on movies and other pop culture. Me, my elderly roommate, and our best friend plug it into the TV and watch Star Wars until 2 am like normal people.”

Tony shrugged. “None of what you just said is normal but it’s not as weird as it could be, so I won’t push it. Also, the internet is useful for looking up all kinds of topics. Have you ever considered acclimating to the modern day in other ways than movies?” At Steve’s prompting look he continued. “It’s June which is Pride Month. Tomorrow is the NYC Pride Parade and I, of course, will make an appearance, along with a nice donation to an LGBT+ support association or two. Why don’t you join me? It’s no longer illegal or considered ‘sodomy.’” The last word was delivered with finger quotes and an eye roll.

Steve could tell Tony was hedging at something but couldn’t pinpoint what exactly. Sighing, he decided to give up his scrutiny and find out whenever it became obvious. “I never thought it was a bad thing, and I’d love to come. I would like to stay out of the spotlight though.” 

Tony nodded. “That’s fine. Just come, enjoy the festivities, maybe paint your shield rainbow.” He expertly avoided Steve’s glare at that suggestion. “You don’t have to make any speeches, leave that to me.” 

Bucky wore a long sleeve shirt to cover his metal arm and Steve had a baseball cap pulled low so people wouldn’t pick his face out of the crowd so easily. Normally he didn’t mind being stopped by people who wanted to take pictures or just say hello but today he wanted to enjoy the parade without interruptions. Bucky’s metal arm gripped Dodger’s leash as the mutt zig-zagged back and forth between interesting smells and interesting people, all of whom stopped for a moment to coo over him and scratch his head. 

They followed the parade for a few blocks, absorbing the sights and sounds and novelty of people being able to celebrate themselves, with no fear of legal persecution over who they could love or marry. It really was a different world from 1940’s Brooklyn, sometimes worse but sometimes better. Bucky leaned close, his mouth near Steve’s ear so he could be heard over the noises around them. “What do all the different colored banners mean?”

Steve frowned slightly, unsure. “I don’t know, actually. I know the rainbow one is the gay flag but I’m not sure about the others.” Turning, he spotted what he hoped was a friendly face and caught the teen’s attention with an ‘excuse me, miss.’ She turned towards him, slightly wary but still smiling. 

“Yeah?”

“Do you know the meaning of all the different flags? I’m just realizing I only know what the rainbow one stands for.”

The girl eyed him for a moment before suddenly freezing in place. Steve straightened to look over his shoulder, wondering what she’d seen when she hissed through her teeth, “oh my god you’re Steve Rogers.” His head whipped back around towards her, a pleading expression on his face. Seeing it, she nodded. “Don’t worry, I won’t sound the alarm. I bet all this is wild, coming from the 40’s.” 

Turning, she pointed a tattooed arm at a pink, blue, and purple striped banner somebody held that said  _ Bi Bi Bi. _ “That’s the bisexual pride flag.” At Steve’s furrowed brow she patiently explained, “Bisexual is attraction to two genders, usually men and women but it doesn’t have to be.” 

“In sync,” Bucky chimed in from behind Steve.

“What?”

“NSYNC is the band who sang ‘Bye Bye Bye.’” Bucky pointed at the sign as Steve’s new mentor stared, having previously overlooked him. 

“Is that James Barnes?” Bucky shrugged and turned his attention to Dodger who was seated at his feet staring attentively up at him.

“Yes,” Steve answered for him, “that’s James Barnes.” Gesturing towards a pink, yellow, and blue striped sign he reclaimed the girls’ attention. “What is that one?”

“That’s the pansexual flag, attraction to all genders including male, female, and nonbinary.” She then picked out and named, in succession, the asexual flag, transgender flag, and lesbian flag. Shrugging, she turned back to the super soldiers. “There’s other genders and sexualities out there that are less common, or maybe there’s just no signs for them that we can see from here. The internet has loads of information if you’re still curious.”

Steve thanked her and she grinned up at him, teeth flashing white against the rainbow paint on her face. “I got to educate Captain America about the gay community. Pleasure’s all mine.” Disappearing into the crowd, she turned and waved one last time. 

  
• 

“Steve, why are you up?” Natasha’s voice startled him, her feet so silent he hadn’t heard her come in.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he replied absently, adding with a vague hint of sarcasm, “decided to try the Google Machine.”

“Google machine?”

“That’s what Tony called it. I think he was making fun of me.”

Natasha chuckled. “He does that a lot, huh? What are you doing?” She crept closer and Steve shut the laptop quickly. Arching a brow at his lack of subtlety she let the topic drop and instead fell back into the common room couch.

“What are you doing up?” Steve asked in a flimsy attempt to direct the conversation away from himself. Nat shrugged. 

“Couldn’t sleep. Where’s Barnes?”

Steve huffed a laugh, corners of his mouth curling. “He fell asleep on the couch in our suite about an hour ago. I didn’t want to wake him so I left him there.” 

“And came to the common room to use a Google Machine.” Steve rolled his eyes at her persistence. 

“Yes, Natasha.”

“Does this have anything to do with the parade earlier today?” Steve’s face warmed but the room was dark enough that he hoped it his his blush. Natasha was really too smart for her own good. After a moment of silence he sighed, picking up the laptop from its place on the desk and settling on the couch next to Natasha with it in his lap. He opened it up and the blue light lit up their faces, the official GSA site glaring brightly at them from the screen.

Steve didn’t turn to look at Natasha, fixing his gaze on the computer in front of him with an intense focus. Avoiding eye contact? He would never. 

He’d navigated to the informational page in which they detailed the various genders and sexualities. He skipped over the gender non-binary section ー he was interested in learning more about that but right now, he was a man on a mission. 

Steve scrolled through the various sexualities listed, reading each one carefully and waiting for an epiphany to hit. Some he skipped. He knew that on some level he was attracted to women and men, which left out gay. Lesbian wasn’t an option for obvious reasons. Biromantic felt like it fit him but bisexual didn’t seem quite right. Asexual wasn’t it either. When he stumbled onto the definition of demisexual his heart thundered in his chest. He read the passage again.

_ “A demisexual is a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone.” _

And again. 

_ “A demisexual is a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone.” _

And again. 

_ “A demisexual is a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone.” _

He thought back to Peggy, who he’d honestly fallen in love with from the start (who wouldn’t, after watching her beat Gilmore Hodge into the ground?) He thought about how he’d never had much inclination to sleep with anyone, until he met Peggy Carter and had time to get to know her. Unbidden, his mind flashed to Bucky. He remembered when he’d catch Bucky while he was changing, or when his head tilted back jauntily and a smile would play on his lips. He remembered when his thoughts would wander  _ there  _ for a moment before he’d quickly reel them back in, mentally scolding himself. 

“Steve?” Natasha’s soft voice broke him out of his reverie. Her sharp eyes had taken in the words he’d been reading on the screen and the way his body had stilled, learning all she needed to know in seconds. 

A small smile settled on his face. “There’s a word for it,” he breathed in wonder. 

Steve took a deep breath, looking at the expectant faces of his friends around him. “I’ve been doing some research and I just wanted to tell you all, I’m demisexual. Biromantic too, technically.”

Clint frowned slightly, fidgeting with his hearing aide. “Shit man, I’m sorry, could you say that again? My hearing aide wasn’t turning on.” 

Steve just shook his head. “The specific words don’t matter, just that romantically I like men and women but sexually-” He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat as he avoided looking directly at Bucky. “I don’t really experience sexual attraction until I’ve known someone a while. Just wanted to tell you guys.”

“If you don’t mind me stealing your thunder a little bit Stevie, I guess this is a good time to say that I like men and women too.” All eyes shifted to Bucky as he said this. 

“To me, as to many asgardians, gender is neither here nor there,” Thor declared, slapping Bucky’s shoulder. “We support you, Soldier. And you also, Captain.”

Steve’s face was beet red as Thor delivered a mighty slap to his shoulder as well. 

“Thank god,” Bucky muttered, slightly sarcastic.   
  


•

Bucky swung his leg around off Steve’s hips, settling next to him with his head tucked under the blonde’s chin and his left arm draped across his stomach. With his eyes closed he felt, more than saw, Steve gently lifting the black and gold metal of his hand, tracing over the fingers with his own. 

Bucky knew what he was looking at; a small black plate that formed part of his lower left ring finger had been replaced with gold, matching the veins of gold that ran throughout the arm. Steve’s finger bore a more traditional ring, a simple gold band that he was able to slip onto his hand of bone and blood.

Bucky uncurled from Steve’s side enough to look up at him, sitting partially propped up by his pillow. “Want to know what my ma always told me?”

When Steve returned Bucky’s gaze it was filled with such adoration he had to glance away for a second, blinking away errant tears. “She always told me,  _ James, once you marry, make sure it’s an Irish Catholic girl. _ I’d ask her why not a nice Jewish girl, to keep with the religion an’ all. Not that I was ever very religious in the first place.”

“Aw Buck, she never said that.” Steve rolled his eyes but a gentle smile was settled on his lips. 

“I swear it on her grave, Stevie. Know what she would reply with?  _ They’re devout, they’re not afraid of hard work, but they still know how to have a good time. _ ” 

Steve laughed out loud at that one, head tipping back with a grin on his face. “She’d be rolling in her grave now to see you with an Irish Catholic  _ man. _ ”

Bucky shrugged, not convinced. “She always did like you, I don’t think she’d mind me spending the rest of my life with little Steve Rogers.”

“Ain’t so little anymore, Buck.”

When he wasn’t in front of the others Steve’s Brooklyn accent thickened, contractions and mannerisms from the 40’s  becoming more frequently used with every sentence. 

Bucky just patted the solid stomach next to him. “What you looked like never mattered, Steve. It still doesn’t.

Steve glanced towards the arm. “Physical aspects of a person don’t mean shit.” Bucky stretched and curled metal fingers, watching the light flash on the gold band. 

“I’m trying to make the arm  _ mine _ . It helps that the old thing is gone, the ridiculous red star and too-bright silver. I’m also making  _ you _ mine while I’m at it.”

“What a smooth talker. Don’t worry though, I always was yours.” Steve grinned, still looking down at Bucky with that stupidly loving look, edged with mischief. “Even before I learned what you could do with your mouth.”

Bucky gasped in mock horror. “Steven Grant Rogers, I am  _ scandalized.  _ Not in this Christian household.”

Steve arched a brow. “Not in this Christian household? Isn’t that a meme?”

Bucky just shrugged. “Learned it from the spider kid, he’s always saying that when Tony curses.” He settled down, tucking himself back into Steve’s side. With his ear near his chest he could hear the deep steady breathes Steve took, no more rattle or wheeze. With the warmth from Steve’s skin and the gentle pressure of fingers running through his hair Bucky drifted off, more peaceful than he had been in years. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Stop erasing Clint’s disability 2k19
> 
> That last scene was just me failing to resist the urge write Stucky fluff. Oh well.


End file.
